


five minutes to midnight

by goldavn



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Coffee, Fluff, M/M, PanWink - Freeform, coffee shop AU, film student jihoon, fluffy cute moments, shy guanlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-01 17:38:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12709713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldavn/pseuds/goldavn
Summary: jihoon works the night shift at a coffee shop and guanlin always appears just before midnight. since there’s never anyone around, they end up talking and falling for each other.





	five minutes to midnight

**Author's Note:**

> this is my piece for 101 love songs fest 2017! it is pretty dialogue heavy but nonetheless i hope it is still enjoyable. p.s: i didn't mean for romeo and juliet to have such a 'big' part in the fic but here we are, some things can't be helped :3

_Did my heart love 'til now?_

_Forswear its sight._

_For I never saw true beauty 'til this night._

_\- romeo and juliet_

_____________________________

 

 

 

When Jihoon had applied to university, the last thing he had expected would be working night shifts at a coffee shop. It's ironic that Jihoon is working somewhere that serves the very thing you should not be drinking if you want a good night’s sleep. At first, Jihoon had thought he could manage film production and keep a part time job during the day.

 

He was wrong.

 

Between lectures and assignments as well as compulsory readings and homework, Jihoon could barely find the time to even sit down a study. He spent weeks looking around in a desperate fit for something, anything that would fit in with his schedule. He went everywhere - from the university pharmacy, a vet, even convenience stores. Somehow, he always came up short – either the hours did not work out or they could not hire him at the time.

 

So, when Jihoon stumbled across a café on the outskirts of campus he thought why not try his luck once more. He got the job. The owners hired him on one condition, he was to work night shifts. At first Jihoon worried he would not be able to adjust, but it is the price he must pay to have job.

 

 

Day 1

 

The café itself is lovely. The walls are a soft wood colour with pale blue and white accents. There’s a single section of the wall of reinforced brick, the owners had added fake vines as well as planter pots to it; they seemed to love having an earthy feel to the store, but it is one of the things Jihoon has come to love about it. The café itself is rather small, it keeps the heat well and has a steady flow of customers – that is in the day time, the night shifts are another story.

 

Jihoon starts his shifts regularly at eight o’clock. By this time, the sky is settling into its opal shade, the air outside turning brisk and piercing to one’s breath. He usually has little to no customers, easily allowing him to sit behind the counter bent over his laptop, boring his eyes into whatever film their class had to be analysing for the following week.

 

It is five to midnight when the bell above the door jingles. Jihoon, previously immersed in the film adaption of Romeo and Juliet, is now slowly squinting his eyes towards the sound.

 

 _Who would want coffee at an almost god awful hour like this?_ He thought to himself. As his sight adjusts back to the present and not a computer screen they almost fall out of his skull. A tall boy dressed all in black is slowly sauntering over to the counter. He has this fluffy dark hair that falls out underneath his sweatshirts hood. It frames the oversized reading glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. The boy is tall, well, much taller than Jihoon - but still he is tall. The boy looks younger than him, but not by too much, Jihoon gulps as he quietly indulges in the boy’s appearance.

 

“Hello” Jihoon chimes, a little too cheerfully at the boy. The boy returns the gesture, almost whispering a hello back. Jihoon waits as the boy looks at the chalkboard above the counter. Jihoon doesn't know what to do with himself. He feels for the first time in a while... awkward?

 

The boy opens his mouth to say something, but quickly retracts, like he has not quite made up his mind.

 

“Can I help you, sir?”

 

The boy stifles back a laugh. “I’m sure you’re older than me, isn’t sir a bit strange?”

 

Jihoon notes that the boy has a heavy accent, is he from another town?

 

“I wanted to be polite, you’re a customer after all”

 

Jihoon smiles at him, taking in the warm radiance that the boy seems to give off. The boy smiles at him turning his head back to the chalk board, motioning to the words written on it.

 

“How do I say this? Is it frap-a-hi-o?” the boy carefully pronounces each of the characters, his Adams apple bobbing as he does so.

 

“Frappuccino?” Jihoon asks, a wide grin plastered on his once stoic face.

 

The boy chuckles.

 

“That’s the one. Sorry my Korean is still… I’m not too confident”

 

Even though the boy chuckles, Jihoon can still sense a bout of low self-esteem coming from the boy. He cowers his head a little and it is all too familiar to Jihoon.

 

“Nonsense! Better than me by far” Jihoon smiles at him, anything try and get the boy to gain back confidence. He mentally face-palms himself at the same time, embarrassed at his attempt.

 

“You don’t need to say that” the boy blushes as the words come out of his mouth, and Jihoon thinks it is adorable.

 

“It’s okay, you have cute pronunciation” _Shit._ He did not just say that. The boy looks confused. Thankfully, he either did not understand or would rather ignore the fact Jihoon basically called him cute.

 

“What flavour were you after?”

 

The words seem to ease the confusion on his face. However, the boy does look like he was not expecting any further questions.

 

“What do you recommend?”

 

Jihoon raises a hand to ruffle his hair, his lips pouting as he thinks of what the boy might like.

 

“Caramel?”

 

“Perfect”

 

The boy reaches into his pockets, leafing out a credit card. He swipes his card and puts in his details. After his payment, he stands kind of awkwardly at the counter as Jihoon scrambles to move his things out of the way. He turns to put on his apron, reaching down to open a new bag of coffee beans. As he turns around to the coffee machine he sees the boy looking at his computer screen.

 

“Is that, Leonardo DiCaprio? Romeo and Juliet?” the boy asks, his eyes wide.

 

Jihoon nods. “Yeah, it’s for class” he pours the coffee beans into the grinder.

 

“I love that movie” the boy shyly smiles, almost bashful.

 

“What is it for?” he seems eager, like he can finally talk with someone on the same wave length as him. His crossed arms balance his upper half on the counter, kind of like when kids try balancing on top of the rails of a shopping trolley.

 

“Film class, I’m a film major, production to be exact” Jihoon can barely get the words out of his mouth. He tries to focus on grinding the beans for the boy’s coffee, but he will not stop asking questions.

 

The boy’s lips make an O shape, impression washing over his body’s expressions.

 

“But why Romeo and Juliet?”

 

Jihoon stops to think.

 

“I guess the professor wanted us to look at the lighting, mis en scene, the romantic development I guess” he pauses, waiting for the reaction on the boys face.

“Not very romantic when they both die at the end” the boy interjects.

 

Jihoon nods while focusing on hooking the porta filter into the opening on the machine, pressing the extract button.

 

He notices the boy staring at his chest, strangely, yet squinting as he does so. He looks down and sees the owner of the gaze is his name tag, name slightly worn off.

 

“It says Jihoon. I mean, that’s my name”

 

 The boys nods, looking away with slightly pink cheeks.

 

“Jihoon hyung, is it hard?”

“Well I’ve watched films my whole life so- “

The boy cuts him off with a shrill laugh. The noise shocks Jihoon to the extent that he almost unhooks the porta filter.

“I mean coffee, is it hard to make?”

 

Jihoon contemplates his answer. When he first started, he had no clue how to use the machine. Many a times he spilt hot water on himself, many a times he curdled the milk, and many a times he just straight up ended up making the burntest coffee possibly ever made. Now he likes to think he is mastered the art of coffee making, at least, maybe the boy can be the judge of that.

 

 

“To start with, yes. After a while, not so much”

 

The boy nods at his answer, watching Jihoon as he carefully pours the coffee into a blender, adding ice as he does so. He pours in the caramel syrup and a little milk and gives it a shake, putting the top on as he presses the blend button.

 

The boy watches him with attentively. Jihoon thinks his eyes might fall out of their sockets from the never-ending focus. He finishes up making the Frappuccino, placing it in front of him with a few napkins and a straw.

 

“It looks delicious, thank you” the boy takes the drink with both hands. He sends Jihoon a gummy smile as he walks towards the door.

 

Even his back looks good, Jihoon thinks as he opens the door to leave. After the door closes he turns around outside. He gives Jihoon a small wave before heading off into numbing cold outside.

 

Jihoon wonders if he should have made more small talk, he also wonders how the coffee tasted to him.

 

But most of all he wonders,

 

_“why didn’t I at least get his name?”_

_________________________________

 

Day 2

 

Jihoon has had a steady number of customers the next night. Students came in in rushes causing him to frantically make their orders while making a mess behind the counter. It is not until after eleven that all the customers finally leave and he can take a break. As usual, he sets his laptop up, re-watching Romeo and Juliet so he can put finishing touches to his project. He didn’t expect to feel so exhausted while watching the small screen, and inevitably he nods off as his head softly rests on the counter.

 

He’s in a light sleep when he thinks he hears the distant sound of the doorbell chiming as it opens, indicating the presence of a customer. As anyone would do in that situation he continues sleeping, his brain not quite registering that the sound was not coming from his dreams.

 

At first, there is a single tap on his shoulder. There is a pause before there is a second and a third.

 

“Excuse me, Sir, uh are you okay?”

 

Jihoon is startled, wiping drool furiously from his mouth as he sits upright. His eyes adjust to the café lighting and he is surprised to find the owner of the voice being the handsome boy from last night.

 

“Oh”

 

Yes, Jihoon is startled and it is obvious to the boy as he jumps back from the counter. Jihoon wipes his eyes with the back of his hand, focusing them eventually on the other male.

 

“Sorry, yeah. I guess I just fell asleep” he chuckles as he stands up right, waiting for the boy to perhaps make another order.

 

He stands awkwardly. The posture makes Jihoon suggest to himself that the boy is naturally awkward, much like himself when he was younger.

 

“Don’t be sorry, working here must be hard” he smiles, it’s not any smile, it’s the brightest smile Jihoon has ever seen on another person.

 

“You’re right, some customers don’t have any manners at all” Jihoon scoffs, recounting the college kids from earlier that night.

 

“You don’t have to worry about me though hyung. I’m one of the nice ones”

 

“Speaking of you, do you know what you’d like to order?”

 

“Just an iced Americano please”

 

“Was the Frappuccino not nice?”

 

“No, hyung – it was delicious!”

 

“But you don’t want to try something else?”

 

“Well- “

 

Jihoon doesn’t mean to look offended, in fact, he does not know why he cares so much over a damn coffee in the first place.

 

“I guess I could get something else- “

 

“I didn’t mean to sound that way. Just considering you seem to not be from around here you may want to try different things than you usually do”

 

The boy is sweet. He smiles at Jihoon with such sincerity, it makes him feel whole, makes him feel nervous – butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

 

_It’s a customer, stop feeling like this._

 

“If you insist” he begins, “I’ll take a mochachino, with extra chocolate powder”

 

“Will that be with marshmallows?”

 

“Only the pink ones. I don’t like the white ones”

 

Jihoon starts preparing the things he needs for the coffee when it strikes him.

 

“Oh sorry, but can I get a name…” he hesitates, “for the order?”

 

“Oh!” the boy exclaims, leaning against the counter.

 

“It is Guanlin. Lai Guanlin”

 

_________________________________

 

Day 3:

 

“So, what will it be today?”

 

Jihoon looks over the counter at Guanlin who is kitted out in full winter clothing.

 

“Anything! It is freezing”

 

Jihoon looks picks one of the menus out of the box they sit in on the counter. He scans the page, looking for the hot category. He could go with something basic like a long black, the espresso would surely warm him up. However, the seasonal range catches his eye – how could he forget.

 

“Have you tried a ginger bread latte before?”

 

Guanlin mouths the word. “Ginger Bread, g i n g e r, Oh! Ginger Bread”

 

“No I haven’t!”

 

“They are a Starbucks exclusive but I make them much better” Jihoon opens the container holding the syrup bottles, holding the ginger bottle towards Guanlins face.

 

“Here, sniff”

 

Guanlin lowers his head slowly, careful not to touch the syrup with the tip of his nose. He takes a deep breath in and hums at the heavenly smell.

 

“You better live up to your words because that syrup smells amazing!” Guanlin has that dumb smile back on his face. It seems to be a common occurrence when he comes to the café, and Jihoon thinks its adorable.

 

“I promise”

 

 

_________________________________

 

Day 4:

 

_Caramel latte_

 

Day 5:

 

_Iced strawberries and cream Frappuccino_

 

Day 6:

_Double shot iced vanilla latte_

 

__________________________________ _

 

Day 7:

 

“Can you add honey in it?”

 

Jihoon looks up at him, astonished by the odd statement just made.

 

“You want honey? In your Chai Tea Latte?”

 

Guanlin looks back at him, eagerness radiating off him. “Yes hyung, I want honey in my Chai Tea Late”

 

“Are you talking back to me?”

 

“No hyung, I was just double checking you understood what I meant”

 

Jihoon scoffs.

 

“It is going to ruin the flavor but if you insist”

 

Jihoon finishes making the beverage, adding in the honey as he was informed to. He pushes the takeaway cup across the counter into Guanlins awaiting hands.

 

The moment the cup hits his lips and he feels the taste on his palette he gags, almost spitting the liquid everywhere.

 

“That’s awful!” he splutters, putting the cup in its rightful place – the trash.

 

All Jihoon can do is double over from laughing at his commotion.

 

“You asked me to make it and that’s what I did! Now pay up!”

 

“Hyung, can’t you make me another, without the honey?”

 

“Are you paying for it?”

 

“…”

 

“Well?”

 

“You’re the one who told me to try different things and that’s what I did!”

 

They bicker sweetly, over Jihoons coffee making skills and Guanlins taste preferences. Within no time the beverage is sitting back in front of the awaiting boy. He licks his lips as he tastes it for a second time, nodding when the flavor fills his mouth.

 

“You should enter a coffee competition or something Jihoon! This is delicious”

 

“I’m glad you enjoy it”

 

Jihoon doesn’t have any younger siblings, so seeing Guanlin enjoying his creations (even though they are simple) warms his heart in ways he thought were not possible.

 

Maybe Jihoon should start being a bit sweeter, let his heart take control of his actions instead of thinking everything through. Maybe he should stop regarding Guanlin as a customer, perhaps an acquaintance.

 

Maybe even a friend.

 

__________________________________ _

 

Day 13:

 

Guanlins days are becoming more routine as they pass. He goes to class, comes home and studies for hours. After he finishes what he needs he goes for his nightly walk, down to the café. It’s a part of his day he never wants to miss, Jihoon being the most familiar, even if they’ve only know one another a couple of weeks.

 

He walks with pep in his step, humming as he walks down the street. The air is icy but his heart is nothing but a flame. Maybe this is what its like to have a crush. He thinks to himself, nearly speaking the words allowed as he reaches the shop entrance. He peers through the glass and sees Jihoon bent over the counter, eyes glued on his laptop watching none other than Romeo and Juliet.

 

He grins to himself, thinking of the bored boy inside. He taps on the glass to see if he can hear him, and sure enough he is startled by the noise. He motions to Guanlin to come inside from the cold. He steps inside, instantly feeling the warmth and smell from the coffee beans.

 

“What will you be having today Mr Lai”

 

Jihoon is bent over the counter, porta filter already in hand.

“Can you surprise me?” he winks at Jihoon.

 

“More like _you_ always surprise _me_ ” he hears Jihoon mutter, but its not in negativity, its in tenderness.

 

Guanlin waits at the counter, watching the laptop as it continues to play the film. Guanlin wonders how much of Jihoon can remember off by heart – he has been watching every day since Guanlin had first started coming in after all.

 

“He jests at scars that never felt a wound”

 

The words fall with ease from his mouth, Jihoon side eyeing him from the coffee machine.

 

“You know the lines?”

 

“Well the film and play are known for the quotes like this after all hyung”

 

Jihoon nods in agreeance.

 

“Hyung do you reckon its easy to find love like this?”

 

“I don’t know if I’d call that love, lust perhaps, but probably not love”

 

Guanlin cocks his head in interest. “You don’t think its pure, true love”

 

Jihoon pauses, placing the milk jug down.

 

“I think we can only know what love is when we’ve experienced it for yourself. But to be a hypocrite – my opinion is that I don’t think they were in love”

 

Jihoon finishes frothing the milk, making a heart (on purpose) with the froth at the top. He slides it over to Guanlin before putting a lid on the takeaway cup.

 

“It’s a peppermint mocha”

 

Guanlin makes a satisfied noise as he tastes the coffee.

 

“As always, this is delicious”

 

Jihoon chuckles. “Anything for you master Lai”

 

Guanlin laughs. Its is a whole hearted laugh and it is everything to him. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time”

 

He walks towards the door, a murmured word catching his ear.

 

“If only it were that easy”

 

 

__________________________________ _

 

 

Day 17:

 

“So why is it Romeo and Juliet? Of all the films, you could have picked you picked that one”

 

It’s true. The list for the assignment had been filled with numerous films fitting the genre, yet none of them had stuck out. He had picked against his normal preferences and went for the 1996 adaption; the cover art and poster of the film had caught his eye. Not to mention a young Leonardo DiCaprio to drool over. After watching the film over and over it had dawned on Jihoon that he couldn’t relate to the characters nor could he understand the heavy accents, even with subtitles.

 

“At the time, it fit”

 

“Jihoon, it really is a good film. You just need to read in between the lines”

 

“In between the lines of what? The tragic ending where love is not the outcome but is instead death?”

 

“But it is beautiful at the same time”

 

_Maybe opposites do attract._

__________________________________ _

Day 19:

 

Guanlin doesn’t know how to broach the question, so instead he goes for the most logical option: just be bold.

 

“Hyung do you have a girlfriend?”

 

“No”

 

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

 

“Not in a long time”

 

A satisfied smile appears on Guanlins face, his teeth poking through the gaps in his lips.

 

“You shouldn’t be smiling like a Cheshire cat that’s so rude. Maybe I was heartbroken, sheesh. Maybe I suffered” Jihoons toying with him anyone watching could assume it was a flirtatious manner.

 

“Hyung I think you would be the one doing the heart breaking”

 

Guanlin races towards the door, Jihoon not far behind.

 

“Hey who do you think I am? Some mean bimbo? Hey Guanlin come b-“

 

“Bye hyung! See you tomorrow”

 

He shuts the door to the café swiftly, fast walking down the street. He loves the sense of confidence being around Jihoon has been giving him; let alone his decision to finally ask the question that had been lingering in his mind.

 

Maybe he has a chance after all.

 

__________________________________ _

 

 

Day 20:

 

“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” Guanlins voice trills through the shops, snapping Jihoon out of his daze.

 

“Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet” Jihoon returns the line of the film he is sick and tired of.

 

Guanlin chuckles as he sits on the counter in front of him, head resting in his hands.

 

“Are you my Juliet now, Guanlin?” Jihoon eyes him up and down before bowing like Romeo in the film. He holds out his hand to have it slapped away by the boy, who is in a fit of laughter.

 

“Sorry Hyung, I’d rather not be fated to die because we aren’t able to be together”

 

“Yes that would be rather tragic wouldn’t it”

 

Guanlin pauses before replying, thinking carefully how to word what comes into his mind.

 

“I’d rather have a gradual love. The kind where it just grows from feelings and mutual liking of one another – a simple but strong love”

 

“That fits you”

 

Jihoon is smiling, in fact, he is glowing. “And you hyung?”

 

Jihoon looks him straight in the eyes, “An all consuming one. One that I feel in my veins from the start. The type of love where I feel content and loved back every minute”

  

“That sounds lovely. Whoever could give you that is lucky”

 

“Maybe I’m the lucky one”

 

Guanlin becomes bashful over Jihoons words, his eyes smiling as wide as his lips follow.

 

“Maybe”

 

__________________________________ _

 

 

Day 22:

 

The pair are sitting comfortably at the counter, both drinking a coffee Jihoon had made them both.

 

Guanlin was busy rambling on about some jacket he wanted, pulling out his laptop to ask Jihoon how to use the Korean site it was on.

 

Jihoon was starting to feel as though he was Guanlins own personal tutor – an unofficial title he didn’t mind having one bit.

 

They talk about everything from their favourite styles, colours, even prints and patterns, Guanlins eyes alight the whole time. He speaks with such passion yet naivety about everything – a quality Jihoon wishes he could have.

 

They successfully order his jacket, high fiving each other in success.

 

“Thanks hyung, couldn’t have done it without you!”

 

“You couldn’t do anything without me, especially with your coffee habit”

 

Guanlin rolls his eyes before putting on a pout. “But what if I only come here to see you hyung” and it’s true.

 

“Well then you’d be silly for wasting your money”

 

Guanlin sighs. “Ugh, you’re no fun”

 

“I know you are but what am I?”

 

“Oh shut up” Guanlin pushes his shoulder, eliciting a cute grumble from a disgruntled Jihoon.

 

“Try that again” Jihoon teases him, before pushing Guanlin almost of his seat.

 

“You’ll get no coffee for a month”

 

“That’s okay hyung, I’ll just come and annoy you anyway”

 

“Yeah, and I will file a stalking report on you”

 

“It’s not stalking when you want it to happen” Guanlin winks, stepping up from the seat.

 

“You wish” Jihoon says.

 

On the inside all he can think is Guanlins words are nothing but true.

 

  _ _ _ ____________________________________

 

Day 23:

 

It’s different today. Guanlin arrives as usual and Jihoon greets him like has the past two nearly three weeks. However, it isn’t hard to notice something is off. His face tells it all. Dark bags hang under his lids, his eyes glassy and bloodshot. Instead of coming to the counter like he usually would, he walks towards the back of the café, opting to sit in one of the small booths by the far window.

 

Jihoon doesn’t know whether to approach him or let the younger friend of his come to him first. The last thing he wants to do is make whatever may have caused his change in appearance worse. He potters around behind the counter, making a bit of extra noise to see if it startles Guanlin. Instead he sits there in silence, ignoring the noise as if they weren’t being made in the first place.

 

Twenty minutes’ pass, and Guanlin hasn’t moved a muscle. Jihoon (worriedly) paces behind the counter, working up the courage to approach the boy. He pushes the voice in his head saying _no_ to the back of his mind, turning his heels towards the exit of the counter. He walks down the café towards Guanlin and as he reaches him, sits next to him.

 

He doesn’t know how to break the silence. It’s almost consuming. He doesn’t want to upset the younger boy, especially when he looks this miserable. Luckily Jihoon doesn’t have to because Guanlin shifts in his seat to face towards him.

 

“H-Hyung… do I sound weird? Am I weird?”

 

He’s taken aback, tilting his head in confusion.

 

“Guanlin why are you asking me this? You never sound weird why would you think that?”

 

He sits with his face bent forward, not making eye contact with Jihoon. He is fiddling with his thumbs, picking at the edges.

 

“I failed my spoken test today. The other students in my group said its because I can’t speak well”

 

Recounting the events that happened earlier cause him to weep more. He feels disappointed in himself. He feels like his efforts are wasted, his language skills wasted.

  

“First years are assholes” Jihoon sighs.

 

The comment causes a chuckle to slip from Guanlins lips, the sound music to his ears. He sniffles as he wipes at his eyes.

 

“Guanlin seriously though, don’t listen to them. You’re only nineteen and you can speak three languages. Your skills are impeccable for someone who’s only learnt Korean for eight months!”

 

“It’s not just that. I miss home. I miss my family. I miss having friends- “

 

Jihoon wraps his arms around Guanlins shoulders, pulling him tight to his chest.

 

“Just let it all out. It must be hard for you”

 

It worries Jihoon. It really worries him that Guanlin has all these pent-up emotions and hasn’t been able to confide with someone over them. Hasn’t been able to confide with _him_ over them. He feels Guanlins body go slack against his, his head resting on his shoulder as he starts to gently shake – he’s crying once more.

 

“Hyung, I let them all down” he sniffs in between his sobs, clenching Jihoons shirt tightly.

 

“Hey, hey, now don’t think like that. You haven’t let down anyone”

 

“I failed, they were mad. I have no friends to be consoled by, my family would be –“

 

Jihoon hushes him, patting circles into his back. He does anything to help him calm down. His hand makes his way to the locks on his head, threading through them as he caresses the soft strands.

 

“Guanlin, that’s also wrong”

 

“Mmph?”

 

“You have me”

 

Jihoon feels a smile against his shoulder as he let the words slip his mouth.

 

 

“I should get going hyung, thank you” Guanlin clings to Jihoon a little tighter before letting go. Jihoon stands, letting him out of the booth and following him to the door.

 

Just before he leaves he gently grasps Jihoons wrist, his eyes intent on Jihoons own. He leans into Jihoon and he can feel his heart thumping against his chest, intent on breaking his rib cage at any point. He places his lips against the corner of Jihoons mouth, the gloss on his lips cool against his lips. He presses lightly against the skin before pulling away, the look on Jihoons face unreadable.

 

“Really Hyung. Thank you”

 

Before Jihoon could get two words out Guanlin was out the door and gone into the night, leaving a bewildered Jihoon recalling the feeling of Guanlins lips almost, _nearly_ on his own.

 

__________________________________ _

 

Day 24:

 

Guanlin doesn’t come. The shop closes early.

 

__________________________________ _

 

Day 25

 

It is five to midnight when the door jingles. Guanlin steps in, wearing all black – the same outfit he first wore when he first came into the café. He’s holding a small bunch of flowers, pacing towards Jihoon.

 

Instead of saying ‘hi’ he holds out the flowers to him. Jihoon takes them, sets them aside before taking Guanlins hand. He yanks the younger male behind the counter, eager to get an explanation.

 

“You didn’t come in yesterday”

 

Guanlin stands back, flustered by the comment. “I thought I’d burdened you with my sudden… confession”

 

“I think it was anything but a burden. You’ve been struggling and you should have said something earlier. I would have thought you’d trust me”

 

Guanlin nods, the ends of his ears turning red – a telltale sign he is embarrassed.

 

“I-I just didn’t want you to think you had to comfort me or anything like that”

 

“Guanlin you come in here every night religiously. You’re not just a customer, you’re my friend. Please I’d love for you to come here and confide in me”

 

Guanlins mind is put slightly at ease but he still feels nervous.

 

“Not to mention that… kiss?”

 

“About that…”

 

Jihoon waits for an answer but it doesn’t come. Guanlin is going over mentally what to say, what to say that would not scream _I have a major crush on you and all I want to do is make you mine._

 

“It’s okay. I really didn’t mind, but you did miss where you should have put it”

 

Guanlin perks up, the questions in his head answered within seconds of having thought them.

 

“You mean…”

 

Jihoon walks over to him.

 

“Come here” he whispers.

 

And with that, Jihoon places a hand on each side of his face, cupping the beautiful cheekbones on the sides. As he leans in he feels Guanlins own hand tilt his chin up, succulent lips moving faster than Jihoons own. Moments pass and as their lips meet it feels like home. Its smooth, lips slowly moulding with each other – its intimate, the shallowness of their breaths meeting in the little space between them. Guanlins tongue darts across Jihoons lip swiftly before retracting, only to kiss Jihoon a little harder. Jihoon wraps his arms around Guanlins torso, pulling him in close. He doesn’t want to leave his embrace, the closeness, the warmth that feels like a million heat burns against his skin.

 

As they pull apart, Guanlin holds him. He wipes a thumb across Jihoons lips and taking away any extra moisture made by them. He holds Jihoons face in his hand, staring into his eyes that are shining brightly. “Jihoon hyung, you kiss by the book” his lips curl into a grin and Jihoon slaps his chest in amazement.

  
“At a time like this you are still deciding to quote Romeo and Juliet”

 

“It is us though hyung. Fated to be together”

 

“So you want use to have a b-“

 

Guanlin cuts him off, surprising him with another kiss, soft and tender.

 

“I’m kidding”

 

Jihoon smiles against his lips.

 

“I am too” he breathes heavily, his lips quivering as Guanlin kisses him once more.

 

He holds Jihoon in his arms, his height a big factor in the actions, fingers tangling through Jihoons dyed locks.

 

“I really like you hyung” Guanlin says, lips pressing against his forehead.

 

Jihoon presses himself against the angel in front of him, hands wrapping around his waist.

 

“I really like you too”

 

The pair are full of love, kisses and warmth, the feeling in the air indescribable. Maybe after all, he could apply something from Romeo and Juliet to his own life:

 

_“thus, with a kiss I die”_

_~_

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this rushy mess! i had a lot of fun plotting it but i don't think its as nice as it could be!
> 
> please dont forget to comment or kudos :')
> 
> please remember to stay hydrated, and ill see you in the next piece! 
> 
> my twt is @/goldavnao3 if you wanted to come talk au's ;;
> 
> \- em ♡


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